beasts-of-the-southern-wild

Image source: Beasts of the Southern Wild

On Thursday we learned who and what has been nominated for an Oscar, and among the nominees is Benh Zeitlin, director of Beasts of the Southern Wild. Zeitlin is also a Sunnyside, Queens native. He earned nominations in the Directing and Adapted Screenplay nomination; it also was nominated in the Best Picture and Actress category.

Back in August the Queens Courier wrote a little bit about the 29 year-old’s early years, growing up in the borough:

Zeitlin, who grew up on 48th Street, had like many young kids, an effusive imagination. Akin to a filmmaker creating a visual story, he recalls that he and his friends would pass the time creating imaginary worlds and people in an alleyway near his home as part of what they called “The Never-ending Game.”

“I am always blown away how small but giant place of a world it was for me,” he said about his hometown.

At age 6, he and his best friend made a Batman movie. Later, he headed to Connecticut’s Wesleyan University, where he majored in film. Beasts of the Southern Wild is his first feature film, and has garnered a number of awards – so far, Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival; Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival; Grand Jury Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival; Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival; and the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Sunnyside movie maker scores big [Queens Courier]
Benh Zeitlin [Wikipedia]


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